Proposed Re-evaluation Decision PRVD2023-05, octenol and its associated end-use products

Pest Management Regulatory Agency
5 December 2023
ISSN: 1925-0967 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-27/2023-5E-PDF (PDF version)

Table of contents

• Proposed re-evaluation decision
• Next steps
• Other information
• Additional scientific information

Proposed re-evaluation decision

Under the Pest Control Products Act, all registered pesticides must be re-evaluated regularly by Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) to ensure that they continue to meet health and environmental safety standards and continue to have value. The re-evaluation considers data and information from various sources such as information from pesticide manufacturers, incident reports, and other regulatory agencies. Health Canada applies internationally accepted risk assessment methods, risk management approaches and policies to all re-evaluations.

This Proposed Re-evaluation Decision PRVD2023-05, Octenol and Its Associated End-use Products presents the proposed regulatory decision for the re-evaluation of octenol, including any proposed amendments (risk mitigation measures) to protect human health and the environment , as well as the science evaluation on which the proposed decision is based.

Octenol is a naturally occurring volatile alcohol, produced and released by many species of plants, animals and mushrooms. Octenol is registered as a mosquito attractant for outdoor use only in devices which trap and kill mosquitoes. Octenol is a semiochemical which mimics a component of mammalian breath and is capable of attracting mosquitoes (Canada, 2006). There are only domestic end-use products registered containing octenol (listed in Appendix I of PRVD2023-05). The end-use products contain octenol in a cartridge which is placed in outdoor insect traps (in other words, devices) to attract mosquitoes. These traps are placed in areas to lure mosquitoes away from where people congregate.

Octenol has a non-toxic mode of action and has value in providing a pest management solution. Based on the current use pattern of octenol, occupational and dietary exposure to octenol is not anticipated. The potential residential, bystander, and environmental risks are considered to be acceptable when products containingoctenol are used according to proposed label amendments as per current labelling standards (Appendix II of PRVD2023-05).

Under the authority of the Pest Control Products Act and based on an evaluation of currently available scientific information, products containing octenol (Appendix I of PRVD2023-05) are being proposed for continued registration in Canada, with the proposed updates to label statements (Appendix II of PRVD2023-05).

All products containing octenol registered in Canada are subject to this proposed re-evaluation decision. This document is subject to a public consultation,^{Footnote 1} during which written comments and additional information may be submitted to PMRA Publications. The final re-evaluation decision will be published taking into consideration the comments and information received during the consultation period.

Next steps

The public, including the registrant and stakeholders, are encouraged to submit written comments and additional information during the 90-day public consultation period upon publication of this PRVD2023-05.

All comments received during the 90-day public consultation period will be taken into consideration in preparation of the re-evaluation decision document,^{Footnote 2} which could result in revised risk mitigation measures. The re-evaluation decision document will include the final re-evaluation decision, the reasons for it and a summary of comments received on the proposed re-evaluation decision with Health Canada's responses.

Other information

When Health Canada makes its re-evaluation decision, it will publish a Re-evaluation Decision on octenol (based on the Science evaluation of PRVD2023-05). In addition, the test data referenced in this consultation document will be available for public inspection, upon application, in the PMRA's Reading Room.

Additional scientific information

Additional scientific data are not required at this time